Brunswick and Birmingham Railroad explained

Brunswick and Birmingham Railroad
Start Year:1902
End Year:1904
Successor:Atlantic and Birmingham Railway
Map State:collapsed

The Brunswick and Birmingham Railroad (B&B) was a railroad in southeastern United States. Its main route ran from Brunswick, Georgia to Sessoms (just east of Nicholls, Georgia).

History

The Brunswick and Birmingham Railroad was chartered on December 11, 1900. In 1902–03, it built a 49miles line from Brunswick, Georgia to Offerman, Georgia and a 19miles line from Bushnell, Georgia to Ocilla, Georgia. The B&B purchased the Offerman and Western Railroad on July 1, 1902,[1] and the Ocilla and Irwinville Railroad on February 19, 1903. The railroad ran into financial troubles and was purchased by the Atlantic and Birmingham Railway in April 1904.

The Atlantic and Birmingham then became part of the Atlanta, Birmingham and Atlantic Railroad (AB&A) when it took over the A&B network on April 12, 1906.[2] [3] The Atlanta, Birmingham and Atlantic Railroad was acquired by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1926. The Atlantic Coast Line operated the AB&A network as the Atlanta, Birmingham and Coast Railroad (AB&C) until 1946, when they fully merged the AB&C into the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad.[4] This gave the Atlantic Coast Line a second line to Brunswick (their first route to Brunswick was the former Brunswick and Western Railroad).

The segment of the line built between Brunswick, Georgia and Alma, Georgia was abandoned by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1953. The remainder of the line survived the 1967 merger of the ACL and Seaboard Air Line Railroad (SAL) to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, and the acquisition of the Family Lines (CRR, L&N, GA, AWP) into the Seaboard System Railroad in 1982. The remaining segment was known as the Alma Subdivision.[5] After the Seaboard System became CSX Transportation, the line between Sessoms and Alma was abandoned in 1986.[6]

Current conditions

The railroad's former headquarters are today the Ritz Theatre in the Brunswick Old Town Historic District.

A small segment of the line in Brunswick south of Southern Junction is still in service and is part of CSX's Brunswick Subdivision (which primarily uses the former Brunswick and Western Railroad north and west of Southern Junction).[7]

Much of the railroad's former right of way parallels State Route 32 and much of it is now a power line corridor.[6]

Historic stations

MilepostCity/LocationStation[8] Connections and notes
AOB 532.0BrunswickBrunswick
AOB 538.0Brunswick Yard
AOB 541.0Southern Junctionjunction with:
AOB 543.0Greenland
AOB 544.4 Brobston
AOB 545.9Buffalo
AOB 547.8AnguillaAnguilla
AOB 549.0Leicht
AOB 551.2Blunt
AOB 553.0ThalmannThalmann
AOB 555.7Lott
AOB 559.1Browntown
AOB 560.4Old Grade
AOB 563.0Fendig
AOB 566.0Needmore
AOB 570.0HortenseHortense
AOB 574.0Giles
AOB 575.8ZirkleZirkle
AOB 581.0Offerman
AOB 585.0Aspinwall
AOB 587.6BristolBristol
AOB 591.4Woods
AOB 592.4MershonMershon
AOB 592.7Bynum
AOB 594.6CoffeeCoffee
AOB 599.5New Lacy
AOB 602.1Rockingham
AOB 605.4AlmaAlma
AOB 606.1Southern Pines
AOB 609.2Guysie
AOB 613.0Sessomsjunction with Waycross Air Line Railroad (AB&C/ACL)

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://web.archive.org/web/20170505125923/http://railga.com/offerm.html Offerman & Western Railroad (RailGA)
  2. Web site: Storey . Steve . Railroads - Postwar Expansion and Consolidation . New Georgia Encyclopedia . 8 August 2021 . en . 14 September 2018.
  3. Web site: Atlanta, Birmingham & Coast Railroad (GEORGIA’S RAILROADS, 1833-2015: Historic Context and Statewide Survey) . Georgia Department of Transportation . 8 August 2023.
  4. Web site: Wesley Thomas Hargrett collection . sclfind.libs.uga.edu . Hargrett Manuscripts and Russell Library Finding Aids . 8 August 2021 . The collection consists of the papers of Wesley Thomas Hargrett from 1889-1919. The materials pertain to business operations of various Georgia railway companies.
  5. https://www.multimodalways.org/docs/railroads/companies/SCL/SCL%20ETTs/SCL%20Flo%20&%20ATL%20Divs-Ral%20Div%20Monroe%20Sub%20ETT%20%231%2010-31-1982.pdf Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Florence and Atlanta Division Timetable (1982)
  6. http://www.abandonedrails.com/Brunswick_to_Nicholls Brunswick to Nichols (Abandoned Rails)
  7. https://multimodalways.org/docs/railroads/companies/CSX/CSX%20ETTs/CSX%20Jacksonville%20Div%20ETT%20%234%201-1-2005.pdf CSX Jacksonville Division Timetable (2005)
  8. Web site: Georgia Railroads: Passenger Stations & Stops . The Branch Line Society. 1 August 2023.